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Archaeologists frequently call for stricter laws for archaeological heritage protection, in the hope that this will dissuade metal detectorists from pursuing their hobby. In this contribution, it is shown based on historical data that earlier tightening of legal restrictions on metal detecting in Austria has had no discernible effect on the increasing number of active metal detectorists. It is also argued that no significant possibility for further tightening of the law remains, because it is already at the limits of how tough it could have imaginably be made.